Bennett, R-Utah, said at a National Press Club event Monday that what is needed is not necessarily a free-trade agreement between the U.S. and the European Union, but a harmonization of regulations. Right now, he says, there are several different sets of standards that manufacturers have to meet to sell products in both places.

"If you produce a car and want to sell it on both sides of the Atlantic, you have to crash it twice," Bennett said, noting that each side has different crash-test benchmarks before vehicles can be sold in their respective markets.

Bennett, chairman of the TransAtlantic Policy Network, says the relationship between the U.S. and the E.U. is important, and both sides must work toward breaking down any walls to trade that it possibly can.

Bennett said the idea, now being pushed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, is to reduce regulation barriers between the two sides by 2015. The initiative does not target tariffs.

Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., said right now trade between the U.S. and the E.U. is about $500 billion annually, with the U.S. exporting $186 billion a year.

"But we know we can do better," he said, noting that the differences between the two sides has "hampered" the promotion of trade.

Bennett and Costa spoke at a forum sponsored by the Press Club and The Streit Council on the same day as the U.S.-E.U. Summit in Washington. President Bush and other officials are expected to discuss economic integration at the summit, particularly harmonizing the regulatory standards.

tburr@sltrib.com